This set of five discs
from the Resonance label, sub-titled
"A Collection of Timeless English
Concertos", is a compilation of
works designed to showcase England or
Englishness in music of the twentieth
century. The recordings are taken from
various ASV/White Line discs and thrown
together apparently at random. Looking
at first through the works included
one thought this slightly suspicious,
yet a full listening brought home with
full force how the collection does indeed
miss its mark. That said, there are
some wonderful pieces included, and
whilst failing in its purpose, it proves
its worth in other ways ....

A promising start to
the collection with two works written
in the shadow of the Second World War
- Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto and Vaughan
Williams’ Oboe Concerto. The Finzi
- along with the Holst probably
the best-known piece in this compilation
- is excellently played by Emma Johnson,
with Sir Charles Groves providing wonderfully
sympathetic accompaniment. The highly-charged
first movement, and the atmospheric,
dark, reserved second movement, with
its crystalline delicacy and that quintessential
English bitter-sweetness, are dynamically
performed. The final movement is a beautiful
example of an inspired and idiomatic
performance. Yet as soon we reach the
Vaughan Williams, one of the
failings of this compilation comes to
light – the fact that these are from
different recordings means wildly different
acoustics and sound, making it hard
to adjust from one work to the next.

The Vaughan Williams
suffers in being placed after the Finzi.
The string writing here is not as brilliantly
complex as Finzi’s, and tends to take
more of a secondary role. Nonetheless,
this is a beautiful performance of a
lesser-known, yet still recognisably
RVW, work. Stephen Bell conducts the
English Chamber Orchestra with Ruth
Bolister as soloist – as also for the
ensuing Holst (along with Kate
Hill, flute). The first movement of
Holst’s Fugal Concerto is lively,
but doesn’t quite sparkle enough. The
Adagio second movement is remarkably
smooth, but a bit too careful, reserved
and precious – the legato is over-exaggerated,
removing the driving force of the piece.
The final movement, Allegro con brio
is slightly too heavy and plodding,
requiring more vibrancy and lightness.
The Fugal Concerto is well-represented
in recording catalogues, and whereas
the Finzi or Vaughan Williams works
on this disc are perfectly satisfactory,
I would advise turning to Imogen Holst
on Lyrita, Menuhin on EMI, Hogwood on
the Decca British Music Collection,
or Hickox’ s more sedately paced version
on Chandos for a top performance of
the Holst instead.

The perfromance of
John Gardner’s Oboe Concerto
is exemplary, with outstanding contributions
from the soloist Jill Crowther, conductor
Alan Cuckston and the English Northern
Philharmonia strings. Crowther and Cuckston
have phenomenal empathy, not surprisingly,
as they have played together frequently
as a duo. This comes across in all three
movements but particularly in the beautiful
second movement adagio. The bravura
of the outer two movements are punctuated
not only by exceptional solo playing
but also in the ravishing string accompaniment.
Although written in 1990, there are
echoes of the Finzi Clarinet concerto
in the intensity and scintillation of
the writing - yet never derivative.
Barely over 15 minutes in length it
has all the hallmarks of Gardner’s ability
to write sincere, meaningful, approachable
and memorable music. Why such a work
couldn’t be included in a conventional
concert programme, if necessary alongside
the usual war-horses, is beyond me.
It would make a wonderful vehicle for
the principal oboe.

The second disc commences
with Arnold’s Concerto No. 1
for clarinet and strings, excellently
played by Emma Johnson, with the English
Chamber Orchestra under Ivor Bolton.
The Allegro first movement is
playful, taut and rhythmical, coloured
by great splashes of sound. The more
wistful second movement, Andante
con moto, with exposed orchestration
and gossamer, ethereal high strings
is played characteristically and with
animation, as is the boisterous and
almost angry third movement with its
disjointed rhythms. Despite being his
first orchestral work, this nevertheless
has the definitive Malcolm Arnold touch.

The jump from Arnold’s
energetic but sparse string sound to
Stanford’s full, lush and rich
orchestral concerto reveals another
major flaw in this disc’s compilation.
This is a tremendous juxtaposition,
these two works being chalk and cheese,
and programming them next to each other
seems sheer madness. This time it is
the Arnold that is put to shame. The
Stanford Concerto for Clarinet and orchestra
is thickly scored, with an emotional
first movement, haunting second, and
dramatic finale. A most satisfying work,
it is again excellently performed by
Emma Johnson with the inimitable Groves
conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

This is followed by
Horovitz’s Concertante for clarinet
and strings. This is appealing music
– a studious introduction is followed
by a learned fugue, then a jocular passage,
and the work ends brightly and sprightly.
Although an attractive, seamless, condensed
work, it is nonetheless fairly inconsequential
music, and doesn’t have much to say
– again creating too great a juxtaposition
with the Stanford to truly justify its
place. Ian Scott is the soloist, with
the Royal Ballet Sinfonia under Gavin
Sutherland.

The disc concludes
with Hope’s Concerto for bassoon,
written only four years ago in 2000.
This has a striking and mysterious opening
but it soon becomes apparent that the
work is in a more popular, almost film-music,
idiom. An incredibly varied work stylistically,
it draws on many cultures and includes
a jazzy African-sounding dance and an
evocative ending to the first movement.
The second movement is aptly named quasi-blues.
Suffice it to say that God alone knows
what this work is doing on the same
disc as a Stanford concerto! Here, a
prominent glockenspiel part contrasts
sultry strings in places, with the bassoon
singing over the top and a double bass
providing the traditional pizzicato
accompaniment. Graham Salvage manages
the ferociously demanding bassoon part
exquisitely in the Giocoso last
movement – a playful movement with dance-like
episodes. Gavin Sutherland again conducts
the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.

Gordon Jacob’s
first concerto for oboe and strings
opens the third disc, played here by
Ruth Bolister with Stephen Bell conducting
the Elgar Chamber Orchestra. A lithe,
supple, fluid work with more than a
hint of neo-classicism, it is very easy
on the ear, and makes most pleasant
listening. The first movement contrasts
lyrical and classical passages, with
more dramatic and tense sections when
the full strings enter together. The
second movement contains rich, dense
harmonies, more vibrant than the previous
movement, with a sinuous oboe part.
The third movement falls perfectly in
line with what this compilation is trying
– and ultimately fails – to do, namely
present works of an "English"
air – this final movement is the quintessential
"English" sound. A good piece,
Ruth Bolister copes well with the extensive,
if not particularly taxing, oboe part
- almost continuous throughout the entire
work - and gives a beautifully characterised
performance.

Gardner’s accessible
Flute concerto ensues, conducted by
Gavin Sutherland with the Royal Ballet
Sinfonia. This has a gorgeously evocative
opening, a more exotic, mysterious and
darker Lento second movement,
an intermezzo-like third movement, Alla
Gavotta, that resembles ballet music
with extended virtuosic solo passages,
and a will-o’the-wisp, seamless, and
light-hearted final movement. The work
is competently played by soloist Jennifer
Stinton.

Rawsthorne’s
Concerto for ten instruments is a sparkling
and irrepressible piece written in 1961.
It is a decisive work, elegantly characterised.
It begins with a sparkling Preludio,both witty and precise. The second
movement is a considerably more terse
and chromatic affair, including at its
heart a ponderous tune on the double
bass with a rather sinuous arpeggiando
accompaniment from the woodwind and
high strings; rather Sibelian in character.
It ends in a veiled stringed coda punctuated
by mournful phrases from the oboe and
bassoon. The third movement returns
to the rhythmic punctiliousness of the
first movement. Unusually, the work
ends with a slow movement marked Lento
sostenuto which opens with a haunting
phrase from the muted horn then being
joined by high woodwind and strings.
The effect is atmospheric and mesmerizing,
so it is no surprise then that the work
ends suddenly in a somewhat soporific
haze. The work receives an exemplary
performance from the Fibonacci Sequence.

In the following Leighton
Concerto for Recorder, harpsichord
and strings, what seems at first a somewhat
unusual mixture of two sensitive and
subtle solo instruments becomes a winning
combination. The Royal Ballet Sinfonia
under Sutherland has really excelled
in this middle to late 20th
century English music as is well demonstrated
in many other works on this CD set.
They most ably support the two excellent
soloists, Turner and Elcombe. What a
fabulous sound the recorder makes and
how deft the harpsichord accompaniment,
often playing a continuo-type role!
This is an approachable and immediately
attractive work in a generally much
lighter vein than much of Leighton’s
more serious music. The first two movements
demonstrate the flare that Leighton
has for this combination. The last movement,
marked Elegy, is an intense and
moving end to a fine work, and has affinities
with the Passacaglia of Britten’s
Peter Grimes.

The fourth disc opens
with Howard Blake's Violin Concerto
"The Leeds", and Paul
Daniel conducts the English Northern
Sinfonia with Christiane Edinger as
soloist. This work was a revelation.
Here, a Vaughan Williams-like oboe entry
is supported by Holstian driving rhythmic
patterns in the strings below, and then
almost immediately slides – literally
- into a more modern era. The first
movement is dramatic and exciting, complete
with great statements, expansive vistas
and an expressive violin part. Blake's
work in film music shines through in
the best possible way – reminiscent
sometimes of Korngold. Introspection
alternates with great visionary statements
seemingly depicting vast landscapes.
The monumental first movement could
almost be an entire work in itself.
The second movement is elegiac and expansive,
and very much heart-on-sleeve. The final
movement reverts to a more typical early
twentieth century concerto style, and
at places brings composers such as Bruch
to mind. One wonder how drastically
audiences for modern music would increase
if this music were played in place of
Birtwistle at concerts of contemporary
music!

This is followed by
Christopher Gunning conducting
the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields
in his own Concerto for saxophone and
orchestra "On Hungerford Bridge",
with John Harle as soloist. The work
left me most puzzled as to what exciting
event could occur on Hungerford Bridge
to warrant this dramatic music! The
work commences, atmospheric, mysterious
and quite beautiful, and grows more
boisterous and slightly more contemporary
in sound, yet thankfully remains on
the respectable side of avant-garde!

Lambert’s Piano
Concerto, reconstructed from a two-piano
score by Giles Easterbrook and Edward
Shipley, is a scintillating conclusion
to the fourth disc. Barry Wordsworth
conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra,
and David Owen Norris is the peerless
soloist. The work opens with a dramatic
Allegro risoluto with alternately
expansive and introspective phrases,
tumbles headlong into a driving Presto,
flows into a deliciously sweet and wistful
Andante with more opulent harmonies,
and ends with a recapitulatory Allegro.
This innovative, ebullient masterpiece,
was written, incredibly enough, when
Lambert was only 19. Norris sparkles,
and succeeds brilliantly in getting
the measure of this fiendishly difficult
work with astounding virtuosity and
proficiency. Flamboyant and exuberant,
he communicates perfectly the spirit
of this piece.

Ivor Bolton and the
English Chamber Orchestra open the final
disc with Arnold’s Second Clarinet
Concerto. A most un-English work, it
commences with a jazzy, pointillistic,
animated and typically playful first
movement with shrieking clarinet solos.
The second movement Lento is
dreamy, reflective and lyrical in a
more popular and film-y idiom, and the
final movement is a strange mixture
of twenties ragtime and military pastiche,
a short-lived eclectic combination (even
for Arnold!), which comes to an abrupt
end. The work is played brilliantly,
with a tongue-in-cheek gusto and verve.
My only concern here would be that the
upper range of the clarinet is very
shrill, perhaps more so than Arnold
really intended?

The Leighton Oboe
Concerto that follows opens with a serious,
severe, intense, brooding, restless
and mysterious movement in which the
soloist and orchestra echo each other.
The second movement is one of introspective
soliloquies with brief episodes of more
intense music, but rarely rising above
a mezzo forte and not allowing
for much tonal variation for the soloist
. In the third movement the mood swiftly
changes to a picaresque, tersely scored
scherzo which allows the soloist and
strings greater variety and scope without
any greater or more obvious sense of
direction than the previous two movements.
The string of the English Northern Philharmonia
excel and the performances are beautifully
structured by Alan Cuckston and his
excellent soloist, Jill Crowther.

Those not familiar
with Horovitz will find a bit
of Shostakovich in the first movement
of his Trumpet Concerto, whilst the
third movement has a Waltonian introduction
and touches of Gershwin, with full use
of percussion. It is a jazzy, witty
and astute work, brilliantly performed
by James Watson, with the composer himself
conducting the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.

The set concludes with
Fogg’s Concerto in D for bassoon.
Here, Graham Salvage is the soloist,
accompanied by Gavin Sutherland and
the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Again, this
is a slightly jazzy work with Waltonian
overtones, inventive and forward-looking
for its 1931 date of composition. At
times the work is gentle and reflective,
and at others wistful, or roguish and
playful. It is a minor gem, deserving
to be heard more often, especially given
the paucity of concertos for bassoon.

Discussions regarding
whether Horovitz is truly English
aside (born in Vienna, and Englishness
is surely in the blood…?), I would argue
that the majority of these works are
not representatively "English".
The typical "English" sound
is a lyrical, poetic, lush, romantic,
often pastoral sound, not the spiky
terseness of a number of these pieces.
These are representative of a certain
school of composition prevalent in the
mid to later half of the twentieth century
which cannot be said to exemplify all
that is best of English composition,
nor to be typically English in feel
or style, so using them in a compilation
of "Timeless English Concertos"
is a misnomer to say the very least,
and would indicate a failure in the
entire disc’s raison d’être.

The main benefit of
this disc, on the other hand, is an
introduction to composers even dedicated
lovers of English music might not have
heard of, and gratifyingly, ones who
have not been influenced by contemporary
developments in modern music. Despite
its title, the set does NOT include
the great English concertos, bar the
Holst Fugal and Finzi clarinet:
where is the Elgar or Finzi cello, the
Delius violin, or Stanford second piano
concerto? Yet it is doing something
more valuable than trotting out the
already-established classics. There
is a wealth of lesser-known but outstanding
works by British composers, and the
promotion of these works must be applauded
in whatever form they are presented.
Some here – Norris’s exceptional Lambert
for example, or the Stanford – are musts
for any lover of English music, but
I would strongly advocate purchasing
the original ASV recordings rather than
this rather muddled and inconsistent
anthology.

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